


Consequences of Lightning Strikes

by fezwearingjellybananas



Series: The Flash & Hawkgirl [6]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, F/F, Minor Barry Allen/Cisco Ramon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: The main problem with being in a coma was that Iris was just missing all that time, for her the accelerator switch on had only just happened, but it was months ago and even if she'd managed to get up and walk, even if her muscles hadn't atrophied or anything, she can't just shake it all off, it's not all just going to go back to normal. Barry will be able to work out what's causing the dizziness though.
Relationships: Kendra Saunders/Iris West
Series: The Flash & Hawkgirl [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859986
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Consequences of Lightning Strikes

Somehow Iris had slept until one in the afternoon. And she still felt so tired. Just completely exhausted. And everything ached.

“You just woke up from a coma,” Barry said from the doorway. Oh right, that was what had woken her up, Barry asking if she wanted lunch.

She very much wanted lunch.

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long,” Iris said.

“You needed it.”

“I just slept for nine months.”

“Waking up doesn’t mean everything’s better now,” Barry said. “You were struck by lightning and were in a coma for nine months. The fact you got up and walked within minutes is a miracle. I can bring lunch in here.”

“I don’t...”

“It’s just soup and bread.”

He turned back to their small kitchen and Iris pulled the blankets up. All three of them. And her hands were still shaking.

Flickers of lightning were surrounding them.

“One bowl of vegetable soup,” Barry said. “Joe and Ma both made soup, we have so many tubs of soup in the freezer.”

Iris was still staring at her hands.

“Iris?”

“I think I’m hallucinating,” Iris said.

“Okay,” Barry said. “What kind of hallucination?”

“There’s lightning all around my hands.”

Barry walked in and put the soup on her bedside table. He looked at them.

“Can you still see it?” he asked.

Iris blinked.

“No,” she said. “It’s stopped now. It’s just where they were shaking.”

“Could you feel it or just see it?”

“Um. I don’t- I was cold, I could kind of feel pins and needles? Or like tickling. That doesn’t make-”

“It doesn’t have to make sense,” Barry said gently. “Caitlin and I ran some MRIs while you were unconscious. There were a few abnormalities that seemed to correct themselves but perhaps it might be best if we ran another now you’re awake and your brain is active?”

“You think I have brain damage.”

“It’s not an uncommon side effect of a lightning strike, and you hit your head very hard. There was blood and white liquid in your ears, that is a sign of bleeding in your brain. A lot of people left with concussions that night, and most of them didn’t hit their heads nearly as hard as you did. Brain trauma was one theory Caitlin and I had for why you were in a coma, the hospital too but they couldn’t run an MRI when they kept having power failures and your heart kept stopping. You’re awake, you’re walking and talking, if you have any it isn’t nearly as severe as I was expecting. And there are a number of things that could cause hallucinations. How did you sleep last night? I heard you tossing and turning.”

“I felt really restless, and every time I looked at the clock only a few minutes had passed even though it felt like hours, I’m not even sure I actually fell asleep and didn’t just pass out again. And everything hurts.”

“I can get you another painkiller, but you can’t take it on an empty stomach, you need to eat your soup first.”

“It didn’t do anything yesterday. The painkiller.”

“Lightning strikes can cause chronic pain too. When it hit you, you were thrown back against the wall. You hit your head hard enough to fracture your skull and you broke an arm and several ribs. We did what we could, but I’m not surprised you still hurt. We can look for other methods of dealing with chronic pain later if the painkillers don’t help at all. There are a few tests I think it would be a good idea to run. We could go back to S.T.A.R. Labs after you’ve eaten.”

“Thanks, Barry.”

* * *

Barry drove them. Iris had had seconds of soup and she was still starving.

She stumbled when she got out the car and propped herself against it.

“You okay?” Barry asked.

“Brief dizzy moment,” Iris said. “You know when you stand up too quickly and fall back down again?”

“Definitely blood pressure and blood tests,” Barry said. “Need some help?”

“I’ll be fine,” Iris said. She put one foot in front of the other and then she was running faster than she ever had before. She could feel the wind blowing through her hair.

Oh wow.

How did she stop?

She slammed into a wall and her wrist flared with pain.

“Iris?” Barry asked. He rushed to her side. “What was- Never mind, let me see that.”

Iris extended her wrist and flinched when Barry reached for it.

“All right,” he said. “X-ray, blood pressure, pulse, blood tests, MRI, sounds good?”

“Sounds great,” Iris said. “I’m really dizzy.”

“Let me help.”

* * *

Iris’ blood pressure was fine. Which was good, because her wrist was broken, her pulse was racing, her temperature was a little low- nothing to worry about, just a little low which was probably why she felt cold- and Barry had taken a few blood samples. Caitlin was looking over them while Barry took her to the MRI. He’d insisted on pushing her in a wheelchair. And Cisco had been passing her brownies, despite Barry’s raised eyebrow and Caitlin mentioning a rich diet was probably not very good for her so soon after she’d woken up.

“They’ve got beetroot in,” Cisco said. “Mama’s been recipe experimenting again.”

“Putting shredded beetroot into a chocolate brownie does not turn it into a vegetable,” Caitlin said.

The MRI was harder than Iris thought. Maybe it was just because Barry asked her to try not to move, but every part of her itched. Her feet especially, she had this urge to run.

“All done, Iris,” Barry said. He offered his arm to help her into the wheelchair again. In case.

She could feel her feet twitching, drumming, she just couldn’t sit still, it was like all the energy she hadn’t used for the last nine months was sitting right under her skin begging to burst out.

“I have an idea,” Cisco said. “You two are going to be looking at those results for a while, right?”

“A few hours, probably,” Caitlin said.

“Then Iris and I will go for a walk,” he said. “I will take care of her, anything happens we’ll come straight back, and fresh air is good for you.”

“I could use a break,” Iris said.

“I’ll call you if we find anything,” Barry said. “Maybe you should stay in the wheelchair?”

“Maybe,” Iris said.

* * *

Central felt different. Iris couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe it was hitting her that she’d missed nine months. It had been December when she’d walked into S.T.A.R. Labs. September when she’d walked out. She’d missed nine whole months.

“He’s scared,” Cisco said. “Barry.”

“I was with him.”

“Yeah. Do you remember anything?”

“An alarm went off. You ran downstairs with Ronnie and Doctor Wells asked Barry if he could guide the guests out to the evacuation point. I was helping him. I reached for the door and then nothing.”

“I’ve been through all the security footage from that night. The lightning must have been going for the metal door handle but you opened it and it threw you backwards. You hit the wall and a cleaning cart. It had bottles of chemicals on it, Barry said nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, and others, and they spilt on you. They shouldn’t have been there, Doctor Wells said he’d find out who put them there but it was a month before he was out of bed and by then everyone assumed that was the end of S.T.A.R. Labs and Barry, Caitlin, and I were the only ones who hadn’t handed in our letters of resignation. You were bleeding, burning, you didn’t have a heartbeat, and you weren’t breathing. And then the whole accelerator blew up.”

“Where were you?”

“Next to it. Ronnie and I went to try and shut it off. He died. I remember the explosion and then Caitlin dragging me away. I hit my head too, I had a really bad concussion, everything’s really fuzzy and patchy. Caitlin told me Barry took charge, that he looked over everyone in S.T.A.R. Labs, prioritised who needed to get to hospital first, you, Doctor Wells, me and a few other people with head injuries or burns. Caitlin said it was one of the visitors who gave you CPR. Professor Meena Dhawan from the university, Joe thanked her. Your heart kept stopping. You had seizures for weeks. We thought you were going to... He’s a good doctor. But you’re his best friend and he thought he saw you die.”

“It’s not going to go back to normal, is it?”

“I don’t think so. It’s better than we thought. We kept your room so you would be able to come home if you wanted, but I also have a full set of plans to make Joe’s house as accessible with a wheelchair as possible because that was what we were expecting you would need permanently. Everyone’s had side effects. Caitlin seems to have a circulation problem or something, she’s always cold, and I keep getting headaches, I’ve had a few seizures, not many and not really bad ones, I’m on epilepsy medication to see if that helps and not allowed to drive right now, and you know about Doctor Wells.”

“And you moved in.”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“Barry was talking about it before the coma. Not right away, just as a what if. I suggested finding a better place with you and I could find one with Wally, but I’m glad he wasn’t there alone, the two of you make each other happy, you’re my friend too, it’ll be nice to have more company.”

“He wanted you to be able to come home if you could. Maybe someday we can look at somewhere bigger, but I think he’ll be focused on you at the minute.”

“What did happen? With the accelerator?”

“We don’t know. I’ve been analysing all the data for months and I can’t work it out. Inventory took us a while with only three of us doing it but there are things missing. Sabotaging the accelerator seems like an extreme way to arrange a robbery, especially since they’d have to get in anyway, but Arthur Light’s project was missing, and I know he was very angry when Doctor Wells fired him. I don’t know. Everything’s just... I don’t know. The Arrow asked us for help though. Well, Caitlin, there was this thing with some kind of drug going on in Starling and he asked Caitlin to find a cure. I don’t know why Caitlin, I guess he wanted it outside Starling considering I went down there with Caitlin to deliver it and we got attacked by some guy with a sword the second we got into Starling. The news called him Deathstroke, I could have come up with something better.”

“I missed a lot.”

“I know. I have an idea. We’ll have to get the bus though.”

“Sure.”

* * *

Jitters had redecorated. But Tracy still waved and still gave Iris an employee’s discount.

“She’s just finishing,” Tracy said. Iris frowned but then Kendra walked out.

“See you tomorrow,” she said. “Iris!”

“Hi,” Iris said. Barry had called Kendra yesterday, she’d rushed to S.T.A.R. Labs as soon as she could. Iris wasn’t sure exactly where they’d stood, from her point of view they’d had a date a few days ago, from Kendra’s she’d been asleep for months. But Kendra had said she’d like to pick up from nine months ago. That was one thing Iris got to keep.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just a few dizzy spells and Barry thought it might be safer,” she said. “I already fell and broke one arm.”

“She’s already been for some tests,” Cisco said. “We’re just waiting for results. Caitlin and Barry will work it out.”

“Good.” Kendra leaned down to kiss Iris. “My shift’s over, do you have any plans?”

“Just walking, I think,” Iris said.

“I need to go to the library if you have some time.”

“Barry will call us,” Cisco said. “We have loads of time.”

* * *

Kendra had started teacher training. She’d be leaving Jitters very soon so she could do her first placement. The library was on her way back to her apartment.

They were walking under a bridge when a car came skidding far too fast around the corner, police sirens close enough they must have been chasing it. And a man was standing in the middle of the road. Iris didn’t even think, she just shot out the chair and grabbed him. The car was suddenly so slow she managed to reach out, climb in, and she grabbed hold of the steering wheel.

“What the hell?” the man driving asked.

Iris spun the wheel and the driver hit the brakes. Iris jumped back out before they hit the tree and two police cars pulled up, lights on.

“Freeze!” a detective yelled. The driver emerged from the car with his hands up. He smirked.

Fog was coming from nowhere. Not from nowhere, it looked like he was the one creating it. Iris couldn’t see it was so thick.

And then it cleared and the man was gone.

“Iris,” Kendra said. “How did you get over here?”

“I don’t know,” Iris said. She stumbled slightly and Kendra and Cisco helped her back into the wheelchair.

“May I have a moment?” a woman asked. “I’m Detective Spivot, I just need to take your statements.”

“I don’t know what just happened,” Iris said.

“You two stay right here,” Cisco said. He stepped to one side with the detective and Kendra knelt down next to Iris.

“Your arm,” she said.

“Oh,” Iris said. She hadn’t even noticed she’d taken it out the sling. “It feels fine now.”

“How strong are the painkillers Barry put you on?”

“They did nothing yesterday,” Iris said. She reached out and twisted her wrist. “My arm feels fine, why does my arm feel fine?”

“Can I...”

Iris stretched it out towards her and Kendra gently ran her fingers across the joints. Her skin tingled and Kendra jolted slightly.

“I’m so sorry, static shock.”

“It’s fine,” Iris said. “It really doesn’t hurt.”

“You had an x-ray.”

“And it was broken, Barry showed me where.”

“It doesn’t feel broken now. You should get Barry to check, he’s the expert.”

“Something’s wrong with me.”

“We can figure it out.” Kendra hugged her tight. “Oh, flower, we can figure it out.”

“Flower?” Iris asked. She sniffed slightly, trying to ignore the water in her eyes. Failing badly.

“Just trying it,” Kendra said. “No?”

“If it’s you. I didn’t- I didn’t think you’d-”

“I’m not going to pretend it was an easy decision,” Kendra said. “That time with you, as my friend and my girlfriend, is important to me. I really care about you. But no one knew what was going to happen and it was actually your dad who sat me down and said you wouldn’t blame me when you woke up if I moved on.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“It still would have hurt you though. I didn’t want to move on. I didn’t want to give up on you. I’ve dated before, but nothing that lasted. They always felt not quite right, it was like I was waiting for someone I hadn’t met yet. I don’t feel like that with you. Maybe I was waiting for you.”

“You’re sweet.” Iris kissed her.

Cisco walked back over.

“Caitlin’s coming to pick us up,” he said. “And I gave Detective Spivot my number for if she needs anything else but there are several witnesses here and I explained you were in a coma until yesterday and she said it’s fine.”

“Did Caitlin say anything else?” Iris asked.

“She wants to talk to you in person when we get back.”

Kendra stood and squeezed Iris’ shoulder.

“Do you want me to come?” she asked.

“You were going to the library.”

“The library can wait if you want me instead.”

“Maybe,” Iris said. “She didn’t give you any clues?”

“No,” Cisco said. “She wants to discuss it with you first.”

* * *

Caitlin frowned when she pulled over.

“Your arm is not in it’s sling,” she said.

“It feels fine now,” Iris said.

“Can I see?”

Iris gave Caitlin her wrist and she ran her fingers over it like Kendra had done, pressing slightly harder at points.

“Cisco, can you call Barry and get him to set up the x-ray again?” she asked. “Tell him it’s to check Iris’ wrist again.”

“Sure,” Cisco said. “You want me to put the wheelchair in the back too?”

“Yes please, Cisco.”

“Caitlin,” Iris said.

“Everything is fine,” Caitlin said. “I promise. Barry has the results of the tests he did that he wants to go through with you, I just really need to know what happened to your wrist, it might help.”

Iris nodded.

* * *

Kendra and Cisco sat either side of her as Iris sat on the exam chair in Barry’s little office.

“Your brain is fine,” he said. “Just fast. Your blood sugar is a little low, I think that’s what’s causing the dizzy spells, it was monitored while you were in a coma but that could be as simple as you were suddenly up using a lot more energy than you have recently and it’ll take some adjustment for your body to get used to being awake. Your thyroxine seems a little high but not excessively, it’s not an immediate cause for concern, so if we run a repeat blood test for that in a few weeks we can see if it corrects itself or needs treatment, and if we run an antibody blood test with that one too that can tell us what’s causing it. Tell me immediately if you have any chest pains, eye problems, swelling in your neck, hair loss, or weight loss. You said you felt very cold this morning, that’s often a symptom of hypothyroidism which is when it’s lower than it should be, so maybe worth keeping an eye on any weight gain as well. And if your blood sugar keeps fluctuating I might run a diabetes test. You didn’t have any problems eating the bread earlier or Cisco’s brownies? No chest pains?”

“No,” Iris said.

“Doesn’t seem like you have any issues with gluten then, that’s good. You might need some treatment, there’s the potential if your thyroid is over reactive that you’ll be on medication for life, but there is medication.”

“Barry,” Caitlin said. “Can you check something for me?”

“Sure,” Barry said. Caitlin handed him two pieces of paper.

“That’s the x-ray we just did.”

“Yeah, that’s the break there,” he said.

“No,” Caitlin said. “That’s the one we did three hours ago. This is the one we just did.”

“Did you x-ray the right wrist?”

“Yes. Iris, we x-rayed the same wrist you hurt earlier.”

“Yes,” Iris said. “Why, what’s going on?”

“It’s healed completely in three hours.”

“That’s impossible. Wally broke his when we were kids, he was in a cast for weeks, he was in it long enough he taught himself to write with his other hand.”

“I know. Did you dispose of the blood samples already?” she asked Barry.

“You can take some more if you need to,” Iris said. She took her jacket off so Barry could get to the inside of her elbow and took off the bit of cotton wool he’d taped over it last time. Barry propped her arm up with some pillows, grabbed some gloves, put the strap around her arm, and he was much faster this time. He gave the vial straight to Caitlin after getting Iris to hold a new piece of cotton wool down while he pulled his tape out his drawer. He hesitated.

“Can I check something?” he asked. He lifted the cotton wool off Iris’ arm and brushed a finger across where he’d just taken blood from. There wasn’t even a smear on the cotton wool.

“It’s healed too, hasn’t it,” Iris said.

“Are you dizzy again?”

“Um. Tired and kind of hungry?”

“Here,” Caitlin said. She turned a computer screen to them. “This is Iris’ blood. Can you see that too?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Cisco said. “Rapidly regenerating cells are bad.”

“You get benign tumours, they aren’t all cancerous, it’s not that,” Barry said. “I could run a full body MRI instead of just your brain if you want, but that’s not caused by either.”

“You’re sure?” Kendra asked.

“I have never seen that before.”

“It’s like there’s lightning in her bloodstream,” Caitlin said. “I think we might need to find some other consultants.”

“Lightning’s not usually purple, is it?” Cisco asked. Iris turned to look at him and he wasn’t looking at the screen anymore, he was looking at her. She looked down at her hands.

“Barry, I’m hallucinating again,” she said.

“No, you’re not,” Barry said.

“My hands are covered in lightning again, I’m hallucinating again.”

“Hallucination would only affect you, I can see it too.”

“Yeah, me too,” Cisco said.

“It’s real,” Kendra said. She reached for Iris’ hand.

“No, I’ll hurt you.”

“It’s okay,” Kendra said. She rested her hand on Iris’ knee. “You’re vibrating. You’re really fast.”

“What is going on?”

“I might have an idea,” Doctor Wells said.

* * *

Iris had told them what had happened with the car. And how she’d broken her wrist. And Doctor Wells had told them about the particles the accelerator had given off and his theory. Only it sounded like science fiction. He was proposing Iris had superpowers, he could not possibly be serious.

Caitlin drove them outside Central, out into the Badlands. There was no one around. No one to see them.

Which was good, because Iris was wearing a vest top, running shorts, a helmet with a camera attached, and knee and elbow pads.

“Is this really necessary?” she asked once she’d finished lacing the shoes.

“If you can run as fast as I think, no one will even see you,” Doctor Wells said.

“Except all of you who have already seen me,” Iris said.

“Just call it payback for making me go to school dressed as a dinosaur,” Barry said.

“You were eight. Everyone had embarrassing costumes.”

“Are you really sure about this, Doctor Wells?” Caitlin asked. “It seems a little impossible.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Doctor Wells said. “Are you ready, Iris?”

“I think so,” Iris said. She took a deep breath and got into starting position. She’d been to every one of Barry’s races back in high school, she knew what it was.

“Ready,” Cisco said. “Set, and go.”

Iris took off. The wind was blowing past her again, just like before. The landscaped streaked like it did in a car, only far faster. And the lightning was dancing around her again, purple streaking and tickling and the energy that had been under her skin burst out and sang in joy.

Iris laughed. She couldn’t even begin to describe it, this was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

She’d seen lightning like this before though.

Iris turned and ran back to the others. She skidded to a stop just before she got there. Caitlin and Kendra were speechless, Cisco had a huge grin on his face, and Doctor Wells looked smug.

“Wow,” Kendra said. “Your shoes are on fire.”

“Oh,” Iris said. She stomped on them then pulled them off as fast as she could. Which was apparently extremely fast.

“You’ve got superpowers,” Cisco said. “This is the second best day of my entire life, you’ve got superpowers!”

“I know,” Iris said. “Woah.” She stumbled slightly and Kendra caught her.

“Another dizzy spell?” Caitlin asked. Iris nodded.

“I think perhaps Ms West’s unusual ability might explain some things,” Doctor Wells said.

“Barry and I will have to monitor you for a few weeks to understand exactly what’s going on and how this is affecting you,” Caitlin said.

“The lightning and the particle accelerator did this,” Iris said.

“I think so, yes,” Doctor Wells said.

“That particle accelerator wave covered the whole city, you said that.”

Iris thought back to the man earlier, the one who’d summoned the fog. And then she thought back earlier, years ago, back to something they’d never explained and that she thought couldn’t be real.

She met Barry’s eyes. She’d been friends with Barry for years. She’d told him all about the night her mother died. The night their house had been filled with red and purple lightning. And she knew he was thinking about that too.

He looked scared, and he nodded at her. These powers could explain the lightning. Nothing else, not how someone had had them years before the accelerator, not why her house and her mother, it couldn’t tell her who they were, but maybe, maybe, it was the first clue they’d had in years, maybe it could start.

Even if it couldn’t, that man had controlled the weather. The police had been chasing him. But how was anyone supposed to stop someone with impossible powers?

Unless they had some impossible powers of their own.

“I’m not the only one it affected,” Iris said. “And I think I have an idea, but I’m going to need some different clothes.”


End file.
